Dell to include Skype software in media machines

Despite the legal troubles that have been looming over Skype's head lately, there is good news from the company. Yesterday, Dell announced that they will be shipping skype on their mobile entertainment PCs. The new PCs will come complete with Skype's VoIP software suite, ready to go, as part of an overall audio-video communications package designed to make the system more functionality and friendly from the get-go. This of course makes Skype very happy.

"Dell represents a new distribution channel for Skype," Don Albert, director of business development in North America for Skype, said in a statement. "New products from Dell will complement the breadth of hardware designed for the convenience of Skype callers."This won't let Skype reach the entire massive audience that compromises Dell's standard desktop users, as the media machines are part of Dell's higher priced lineup that puts them out of the price range that most home users look for. Overall, this shows a continuing trend with Dell to couple with various software partners, such as Google. Unlike many instances where pre-installed software is trial-based or limited, OEM-only versions, Skype is free for PC to PC calls(for a while, at least), which of course no one can disagree with.